Nene Year in Review

Any
discussion with Nene's 2012-13 has to start with his health. When
Washington traded for Nene at the deadline in 2012, they were looking
for him to step into the
lineup and be an elite big man for Wall to work the high-low game.
Nene developed plantar fasciitis during the end of that season and he
never really recovered before this one, spending his summer competing
for Brazil in the Olympics. This caused Nene
to miss the first eight games of the season, and when he did return, it
was in limited minutes off the bench. It wasn't really until around
February that Wittman allowed Nene to play major minutes, and it was
clear that he was still playing through some pain,
lacking some of the explosiveness we've seen from him in past seasons.

That
being said, Nene was assuredly the Wizards number one option down low,
an excellent facilitator from the post and an above average defender in
the blocks, even
when playing banged up. His versatility was crucial to this team,
particularly on offense, whether running the pick and roll with Wall,
creating space for Okafor or drawing defenders and kicking to open
shooters. The team was six points better offensively
when Nene was on the floor versus when he was not and he also was the
Wizards +/- per game leader. His finished the season as the team's
third leading scorer at 12.6 points per game, and despite that being a
lower number than in the past couple of seasons,
he was right around his career average for points per 48 minutes.

Nene's
ability to distribute was also a huge part of the Wizards offense this
year. In the Wizards offensive system, he was given a lot of the
responsibility for
setting up many of the offensive sets from either the block or the high
post. Nene was top 10 in the NBA in terms of assists per game among big
men, averaging just a tick under three assists per game. Nene also
averaged over an assist per game at the rim,
showcasing his ability to draw double teams and feed Okafor for easy
buckets.

On
defense, Nene and Okafor formed one of the top defensive frontcourt
pairings in the league. The Wizards allowed the fourth fewest points in
the league to opponent’s
frontcourts, and the third lowest shooting percentage at just 44%. The
Wizards frontcourt tandem also gave up the seventh fewest offensive
boards to opponents big men per game. Nene and Okafor working in tandem
were responsible for the vast majority of these
strong defensive numbers.

Where
Nene did struggle a bit this year was with his mid-range game and some
of his scoring efficiency in general. Over the last two seasons, Nene's
shooting percentage
at the rim has dipped from around the 65% mark to the 60% mark. His
shooting percentage from 15-19 feet had been around 42% over the last
four years and fell to about 32% this year. These drop offs could be attributed to his injuries, limiting some
of the explosiveness he needs to score down low and the lift he needs to
be comfortable with his jump shot.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

The
Wizards need a healthy Nene for so many reasons next year, and the hope
is that a full summer of rest with no Olympics on the schedule, will
help his body recover.
While Nene was certainly an effective player for the Wizards last year,
he has the upside to give them even more. It starts with being able to
give more than 27 minutes per night, as over his career he's been a guy
who in his best seasons has eaten up 32-33
minute per game. Nene has never been a guy who has had foul troubles, as
he's such a technically sound defender, so Wittman will have no problem
giving him all the minutes he can handle. Nene is signed for three
more years so he will continue to anchor the
post for the Wizards for a few more years to come. Remember, when Wall,
Beal, and Nene were all in the lineup, the Wizards went 15-7 last year
and when they all started, the Wizards went 6-2. If the Wizards three
leading scorers can stay on the floor together,
good things are on the horizon.